BDA Retreat at Windhover
Weber
Dance was this year's recipient of the Residency and Retreat Award from the
Boston Dance Alliance that will support intensive work on the new piece of choreography.
We are enormously grateful to BDA for this opportunity and will heartily dig
into the creative process in July and August. The grant will support a
wonderful retreat at the gorgeous Windhover Center for the Performing Arts in
Rockport. Here we will be able to leave our normal responsibilities behind and
focus solely on the creation of new work. Immediately following this retreat,
Jody Weber will be headed out to Jacob's Pillow to join the Choreographer's Lab
during the last week of August. We are looking forward to a wonderfully
productive summer!
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Dear
Friends,
Welcome to the summer edition
of the Weber Dance e-newsletter. We have had an excellent spring full of
exciting activities!
We want to extend a hearty thank you to the full house of
supporters who came out in the torrential rainstorm to join the festivities at
our fundraiser in March. The event was a success and raised funds to keep us in
rehearsal space this year.
In April we enjoyed performing as part of the
Movement at the Mills Project sponsored by the Boston Center for the Arts. It was
a beautiful evening and great fun to have dance in the gallery windows for
passing pedestrians.
Lastly, we were pleased to offer two lecture
demonstrations to local schools: Tech Boston Academy, sponsored by the Boston
Dance Alliance, and the Meridian Academy. It is an important part of our mission
to get out into our own community to bring artistic educational experiences to
Boston's youth.
Take a moment to check out some of our summer activities in this
newsletter. Are there other topics you would like to hear about? Don't hesitate
to email us at weberdance@rcn.com. We
will try our best to accommodate as many requests as possible.
Also, we're pleased to share "A Portrait" of Weber Dance in this clip on YouTube!
Lastly, we are ramping up the launch of our Dance Core
initiative and will be sharing the details of that project with you in July.
This is our most exciting project to date- so stay tuned!
All the best in dance,
Jody Weber
Artistic Director |
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Highlight: New Work in Progress
The
two hemispheres of the human brain are responsible for different ways of
thinking and experiencing the world. The left brain is analytical and objective
while the right brain is intuitive and holistic. Western thinking is deeply
rooted in left brain perceptions and often discounts or downplays perceptions
processed through intuition and holistic experience. So, what happens when
someone experiences something that cannot be processed through the left brain?
What happens when our analytical and objective perceptions are rendered
ineffective?
My newest work investigates these questions and considers the
possibility of greater integration in our perceptual experience of the world
around us. I will be working with writer, Andrew Arnett on this new project and
meeting with author Jon Turk (The Raven's Gift, 2009), whose scientific
background and left brain thinking was deeply challenged by extraordinary
events that unfolded while traveling in Siberia. Would you like to contribute
an idea or story? I would love to hear it. Please don't hesitate to email me at
weberdance@rcn.com.
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Juneau Dance Unlimited, 2010
Weber
Dance is thrilled to return to Juneau for our most extensive residency to date.
I traveled with Maggie Husak and Becca Rozell to Alaska on June 5th
where we are offering over 40 classes per week to the community for three
weeks. This is some of the most satisfying work that I do with the company. I
love working closely with a community and having the time to get to know the
students and their families. Classes include foundational work in modern and
ballet technique supported by choreographic work, repertory and improvisation. The
residency concludes with a performance offered by the company enhanced by the
relationships we've built. We look forward to sharing our experiences with you
when we return!
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Spotlight on the Dancers: Sarah Style
When I was five
years old, there was not a tutu in sight.
I never lined up backstage at a recital
sporting a poufy pink costume with sequined wristbands and a sparkly tiara. I
was far too busy fighting the evil forces of Skeletor with my He-Man and She-Ra
action figures. Looking back to when I was a little tyke, sporting "OSHKOSH
B'gosh" overalls in a wide variety of colors, my love for dance was sparked on
the swings in my backyard.
For me, my
passion for movement grew as I pumped my legs and choreographed zigzagging
pathways around the open spaces of my backyard, with my dog Jazz running
excitedly about underneath me. She would occasionally grab hold of my shoelaces
in her mouth, which would require some improvisation. The swings were where I
went to have fun, relax, or take a break from the stress of fifth grade
multiplication tables, but what I walked away with was always so much more than
that. I could spend some time by myself and be both creative and athletic on my
swings. If friends were visiting, they would join me and we could choreograph a
group number and enjoy being creative and athletic together. Everything I once
loved about my swings - I have come to love about dance.
It was not
until I was fourteen years old that I took my first modern dance class at
Interlochen Arts Camp in Michigan. I took classes, performed, and choreographed
throughout the rest of high school and every moment I could as an undergraduate
at Colby College. Since graduating and moving to the Boston-area, I am fortunate
to have danced with wonderful modern companies and choreographers. I also have
the pleasure of teaching at Dancers Workshop in Sudbury. As a teacher and
choreographer I strive to create opportunities for students to nurture their
own love of dance as they build their skills and learn how to communicate
through choreography.
Whether in
class or in performance, learning new choreography or teaching a combination, I
am grateful for the balance that dance provides in my life. Within a single
class I can be comforted by familiar movement and challenged by new
choreography. Within a single rehearsal I have the chance to work by myself or
closely with a group of immensely talented dancers. Within a single Weber Dance
performance, I have the opportunity to communicate through movement that is
both artistically crafted and athletically demanding.
Now, at age 29,
while there is still not a tutu in sight, dance is where I can go to have fun,
relax, or take a break from everyday stressors, but what I continue to walk away
with is so much more than just that.
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